In residential as well as commercial construction there is a great deal of what is termed finish carpentry. Skilled labor is required to perform this type of work and it is very time consuming and therefore very expensive. In view of this, every effort is made to cut corners and to reduce the cost of finish work.
One particular type of finish work that requires a substantial amount of labor and material expense concerns the application of finish carpentry, for example wood trim. The various trim members used in finishing the interior of a building include the casings around doors and windows, baseboard, crown molding, wainscoting, and chair rails. The wood trim serves an aesthetic purpose as well as a functional purpose. It provides a finished look to a room; and it also seals the gaps between the doors, windows, or floors and the adjacent wall.
In residential construction, wood trim is attached to the associated wallboard and wood studs. Wood studs are generally used to form the support base for the wallboard. The use of wood studs allows the wood trim to be quickly and efficiently attached to the wallboard and wood stud by use of a power or pneumatic gun. One disadvantage of using the wood stud support is that in today's construction market an equal length wood stud can cost twice the amount of the metal stud. Another disadvantage of using wood studs is the environmental concern that a continuing lumber demand will promote the deforestation of the country. In addition, wood members are subject to termite infestation which requires chemical treatment of the wood or the surrounding soil. Therefore, there is an economical as well as an environmental incentive to use metal studs in place of wood studs.
Currently, in most commercial construction, metal studs are used because of their inherent strength and non-combustible qualities. The wood trim is attached to the wallboard and a metal stud with screws. Although the application of the wallboard to the metal stud with screws is efficient, the application of wood trim is time consuming. One method of applying the wood trim requires a hole to be first driven through the wood trim, followed by the insertion of a finish head screw through the wood trim, wallboard and metal stud using an electric screw gun, requiring time and expense. The end result is a wood trim having large and rough screw holes which later require an application of wood filler and sanding for a finished job. Another method used to apply wood trim requires gluing the trim to the predetermined location and then shooting smooth shank nails into the wood trim, wallboard, and metal stud with a pneumatic gun. This method is a two-step process requiring expensive labor time. A third method requires shooting a nail into the three layers at a 45.degree. angle. This method does not provide the holding power preferred as in the previous methods. To benefit from the advantages of metal studs, it is necessary to minimize the labor expenditure of applying the finishing touches such as wood trim.